March 2016
Another Look at Pogue Part III: $3 & $5 Gold
There have been hundreds of great auctions over the last 100 years, but none have been more significant in establishing new values for high-end rarities than the D. Brent Pogue Collection sales. With the conclusion of Pogue Part III we have the opportunity to attach values to several previously unpriced rarities and update some values that have gone unchanged for way too long. We listed many of the top highlights in our last article and reported some of the results in our weekly update online; but we saved some of the more important Gold rarity highlights for this article.

Included in the Pogue Part III sale, hosted by Stack’s Bowers Galleries and Sotheby’s, was a complete set of circulation strike $3 Gold, minus only the 1870 S which is unique. There were 43 coins available from this valuable series with a total realized of over $2.6 million. Remarkably, there were a total of seven coins that we did not have a listed FMV price, in the date and grade, prior to the sale because they are so rare and there was no previous trading information. Below is a list of some of the more interesting dates with the prices realized. We included some rare Proof issues as well.

1875 $3 Gold PCGS PR65+ Deep Cameo sold for $329,000 at the D. Brent Pogue Collection Part III sale hosted by Stack’s Bowers Galleries and Sotheby’s in New York, February 9, 2016

Date

Grade

Population

Price Realized

1854 D

PCGS MS62

2

$188,000

1854 O

PCGS MS62

5

$76,375

1856 S

PCGS MS64

4

$54,050

1857 S

PCGS MS64

1

$76,375

1858

PCGS MS65

1

$49,350

1860

PCGS MS67+

1

$91,063

1863

PCGS MS68

3

$123,375

1864

PCGS MS67

1

$70,500

1871

PCGS MS67

1

$70,500

1873 Open 3

PCGS PR65+ Cameo

1

$164,500

1873 Close 3

PCGS MS64

2

$51,700

1875

PCGS PR65+ Deep Cameo

1

$329,000

1877

PCGS MS64+

1

$70,500

1881

PCGS MS66+

1

$76,375

The Early $5 Gold from this recent sale was nothing less than phenomenal. There were 27 coins available and the majority of them are highly regarded which was substantiated by the prices realized. The rarest $5 Gold coin in this sale was the 1815 in PCGS MS65, with only one certified in this grade and none higher. In fact there are only three others certified in Mint State, two in MS64 and one in MS62. This MS65 sold for $822,500 and will surely be one of the more significant coins in a marvelous collection. The 27 $5 Gold coins brought over $4.9 million and there were 5 coins that had no previous FMV price listed. Below are some of the highlights from this portion of the sale.

1815 $5 Gold PCGS MS65 sold for $822,500 at the D. Brent Pogue Collection Part III sale hosted by Stack’s Bowers Galleries and Sotheby’s in New York, February 9, 2016

Date

Grade

Price Realized

1807 Capped Bust

PCGS MS67+

$282,000

1811 Capped Bust

PCGS MS66

$176,250

1813 Capped Bust

PCGS MS66+

$223,250

1818 5D/50

PCGS MS66+

$223,250

1819 5D/50

PCGS MS65

$423,000

1820 Curl Base 2 Sm Letters

PCGS MS66+

$282,000

1820 Curl Base 2 Lg Letters

PCGS MS65+

$188,000

Bear in mind that not all of the coins in the Pogue Part III sale brought higher prices; many sold for discounts of previous FMV levels because of the current climate of the coin business. This trend toward lower prices for rare coins has been the result of the shift in investment money moving toward modern bullion coins at smaller premiums, along with the fact that losing just one or two major collectors from the bidding process diminishes the competitive edge for some rarities. When you remove one or two advanced collectors from the competition, it could mean the difference in 10%-20% less in prices realized. This is even more apparent as the value of the rarity increases.

You may have noticed that quite a few of the coins in this sale have the + designation. This has become exceedingly important for collectors looking for that extra eye appeal, and even more so when a market is clearly not at its finest. Just in the last year alone, there has been a marked increase in demand for coins with the + designation and CAC approved coins. Look for this trend to continue as the market continues to favor the buyer.